Apple overnight released a patch for Mac OS X users susceptible to the Shellshock bug.'We have patched the Bash vulnerability for OX X Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks,' a company spokesman confirmed to PCMag.Mac owners can find more details and a link to the download online.The flaw impacts Bash, a widely used command interpreter also implemented in Apple's Mac OS X. If exploited, hackers can gain complete control over a targeted system.Discovered last week, the bug has been likened to Heartbleed, which made headlines earlier this year. But unlike Heartbleed, which affected only a specific version of OpenSSL, the Shellshock flaw has been creeping into old devices for more than two decades.Apple acted quickly, assuring most customers that they could breathe easy.'The vast majority of OS X users are not at risk,' a spokesman said last week. 'With OS X, systems are safe by default and not exposed to remote exploits of bash unless users configure advanced UNIX s…

Just as promised, the NVIDIA Shield Tablet with built-in 4G LTE connectivity is now available for purchase.The NVIDIA Shield Tablet is priced at $399 and is available from NVIDIA's online shop as well as Amazon, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, GameStop, Micro Center, Newegg and Tiger Direct in the US, as well as 'many top e-tailers' in Europe. US-based consumers can also buy the Shield Tablet from AT&T for $299 on-contract.In exchange for your hard-earned dollar bills, you'll get an Android tablet with the following specs:8-inch 1920x1200 display 2.2GHz quad-core Tegra K1 processor 5-megapixel front and rear cameras 2GB of RAM 32GB of storage DirectStylus 2 pen Console Mode for hooking the tablet up to a TV Shield wireless controller support Front-facing speakers Android 4.4 KitKat Google Play supportNVIDIA is also selling some accessories for its Shield Tablet. Those include a Shield Wireless Controller for $59.99, a Shield Tablet Cover that can act as a stand fo…

Today may mark the official kick-off of 'big fall games that aren't Destiny' season, with the release of Warner Bros.' Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor.The game has already surprised many critics, and in turn, surprised many fans who found the reviews that went up after a very early pre-launch embargo to be largely full of praise for the Lord of the Rings game. Mordor is currently basking in a very respectable 85 on Metacritic, only a point shy of the 3DS Super Smash Bros. release.There seems to be an interesting divide forming between games that premiere with little to no fanfare, and those that are heralded as something approaching the Second Coming. I'd now group Mordor in with Wolfenstein: The New Order as a pair of 2014 games that ended up exceeding most people's expectations, as opposed to the year's trio of big-name releases to date, Titanfall, Watch Dogs and Destiny.

Like Wolfenstein before it, I've seen precious little marketing for Mordor, and I …

When Samsung introduced the Gear VR earlier in September the company said the virtual reality headset would hit store shelves this fall. Apparently, that meant sooner rather than later, as some eagle-eyed shoppers have already spotted Gear VR demo headsets at Samsung Experience Shops inside Best Buy.Best Buy and Samsung were unavailable for comment at this writing.A Redditor going by the name Hackertipz and the Yourift blog each came across demo units of the Gear VR at Best Buy locations in the Los Angeles area. The units were not operational and didn't even have a Galaxy Note 4 attached to them-Samsung's upcoming phablet will supply the processing power and display for the Gear VR.The story behind the story: Samsung's Gear VR will be the first consumer-grade virtual reality available for purchase. The device is really just a fancy accessory for the Note 4, but it acts as a prelude to the Oculus Rift-a virtual reality headset that connects to your PC. Reception to the Gear…

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- In a class of family vehicles where safety can be a big selling point, Honda is betting on high-tech to avoid wrecks in its 2015 CR-V.The 2015 CR-V will be the first vehicle in Honda's lineup to get what the automaker has named Honda Sensing, a bundle of six technologies that the brand hopes will put it step ahead of the razor-sharp competition in the compact crossover segment.Three of them are becoming more common on vehicles. Adaptive cruise control keeps an even distance to the vehicle in front no matter whether it speeds up or slows down. Lane departure warnings sound when a car wanders out of its lane. And forward collision warning rouses an inattentive driver if there is a danger of crashing.To those, Honda has added three new features that aren't usually found in mainstream car brands:.* LaneWatch. Found in the Accord sedan and other Honda vehicles, it puts a live video stream of the car's blind spot on the right side on the video screen.…

HP adds four new models to its Stream lineup after the first one was presented earlier this month. This is a potential blow to Chromebook, as Stream devices will be cheap Windows cloud-based machines. For those who felt that Chrome OS may not be enough, there will soon be alternative, yet similarly cheap, models.A couple of weeks ago, HP presented the 14-inches Stream laptop. Its specs are less than exciting. The combination between AMD A4 clocked at 1.6 GHz and 2 GB of RAM will provide just enough power to surf the net.Now HP expands the Stream lineup by adding 11 and a 13.3-inches laptops, along with a 7 and 8-inches tablets. These models are cheap, run Windows 8 and come in bright colors.'Today's consumers demand mobile products that fit their personal style and allow them to work and play where ever they are,' said Mike Nash, vice president in the Personal Systems Group at HP, in a statement. 'The HP Stream products announced today hit the mark with sleek design, p…

Intel-owned Basis Science today announced a new $199 wristwatch activity tracker and smartwatch with a built-in optical heart rate monitor, touch screen, support for some push notifications from iPhones and Android smartphones, and a swim-safe design.Dubbed Basis Peak, the new fitness tech gadget is essentially a 2.0 version of the equally priced Basis Carbon Steel Edition (which originally launched as the Basis B1 Band; same device, different strap).The new Basis Peak answers pretty much all the complaints users had about its predecessor. The optical heart rate monitor now holds up better during high-intensity workouts, whereas the original version was unreliable at higher heart rate zones, with results varying from person to person. The screen is much brighter, now with a high-contract LCD display with some backlighting that results in less glare. The display is wider, but the watch itself is thinner. The strap is still swappable, as it was in the customizable Basis Carbon Steel, bu…

Uncredited, APToyota says it is recalling 690,000 Tacoma pickup trucks because the rear leaf springs could break, puncture the gas tank and cause a fire.To continue reading this story, you will need to be a digital subscriber to HoustonChronicle.com.

Protesters in Hong Kong have started communicating via FireChat, an app that lets people send messages without cell reception.Tens of thousands of protestors are gathering in Hong Kong's financial district to protest changes to election policy that would let a mainland Chinese committee vet the city's political candidates, and many use their phones to organize. There's a live feed of the protest you can watch on YouTube:College students spearheaded the initial meetup, and this protest is appropriately tech-savvy. In addition to mainstream social networks like Facebook and Twitter, Hong Kong's activists are using iOS and Android app FireChat.Activist Joshua Wong advised his fellow student protestors to download the app, which helped spread the word.FireChat's parent company Open Garden reports 100,000 new users from Hong Kong within 22 hours, and 33,000 users on the app at once. While that's nothing for big networks like Twitter, FireChat is still a small, new, …

Cisco is adding some muscle and money to its Intercloud skeleton, signing over 30 new partners to its worldwide network of interconnected clouds. The new alliances add 250 data centers in 50 countries to Intercloud.Cisco Capital,a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, has also earmarked $1 billion in financing to the effort, providing the money so Cisco customers and partners can more quickly adopt the Cisco technologies needed to transition to Cisco-powered clouds.Deutsche Telekom, BT, NTT DATA, and Equinix are among the heavy hitters joining forces with Cisco to make possible two major industry moves: a new generation of standardized cloud applications and the proliferation of secure hybrid clouds.By aligning with these companies, Cisco takes a quantum leap toward its plans to address customer demands for a globally distributed, highly secure cloud platform that can meet the needs of the Internet of Everything. Cisco's open approach to the Intercloud is designed for high-valu…

StealthGenie intercepted communications to and from mobile phones and was undetectable by most users. It was targeted at people who suspected their spouses or significant others of cheating on them. ED JONES/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Justice Department has indicted a software CEO in what the government says is the first-ever criminal case involving the advertisement and sale of a mobile device spyware app.In its complaint, the authorities charged Hammad Akbar, chief executive of InvoCode, the company that sells the StealthGenie app, with conspiracy, the sale of a surreptitious interception device, advertisement of a known interception device and advertising a device as a surreptitious interception device.The business plan for the product focused on 'the spousal cheat' market, which was expected to account for 65 percent of StealthGenie buyers, according to the government. If so, the people who invented StealthGenie offered the perfect app: the software is said to be undetectable and…

One reason that Android has spread so quickly is that Google allows anyone to use the bare bones of the platform for free. This has allowed venders in emerging markets such as Xiaomi and Micromax to crank out dirt-cheap Android handsets that have killer specs and that generate razor-thin margins for manufacturers. Of course, many of these cheapie handsets don't have access to Android essentials such as the Google Play Store since Google actually does charge a licensing fee for manufacturers that want to use those features, but that doesn't seem to matter to many buyers who just want an ultra-affordable smartphone.Microsoft has observed how Android has thrived under these conditions and it's apparently determined to win the race to the hardware bottom with new policies aimed at getting manufacturers to churn out cheap Windows-based smartphones, tablets and PCs. Paul Thurrott writes that 'Microsoft's real strategy to promote Windows going forward starts where it must…

But at the moment only 10 games are available to Chinese consumers -- Master Chief, where are you? MicrosoftMicrosoft's Xbox One has finally landed in China, though at least a few popular games are off-limits due to government restrictions.The launch kicked off Monday with a special limited edition of the gaming console dubbed 'China Day One,' according to Chinese website WPDang, as reported by WPCentral. Up for grabs across more than 4,000 retail outlets in China, this edition comes with the Kinect sensor and includes several free games, notably Kinect Sports Rivals, Forza Motorsport 5, Powerstar Golf, and Neverwinter Online.Other titles available to Chinese gamers are Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Dance Central Spotlight, Rayman Legends, Trials Fusion, Naughty Kitties, and Zoo Tycoon.Peruse the list of the 10 current titles, however, and you won't see such popular games as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition, and Destin…

Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They're fun!Nintendo fans have had it especially rough these past few years. The Wii U is getting better thanks to admissions from the company that there were some serious faults with the system, but, when it comes to software, games take a bit more time in the oven than a firmware update likely does. Today, we're taking a look at one of the scant few exclusive titles coming to Nintendo's latest home console for the holiday season: Hyrule Warriors. It isn't a proper entry in the Legend of Zelda series, though -- that comes next year... maybe -- it's an action game from the teams most famous for the Dynasty / Samurai Warriors franchises -- don't expect to be delving into any elemental-themed temples here. Instead, hone your hacking and slashing skills. How does it fare, though? Well,…

Lenovo will become the world's number-three server maker, with designs to pass HP and Dell.Lenovo on Oct. 1 will become the world's third-largest server vendor, and will begin efforts to overtake Hewlett-Packard and Dell for the top spot, according to officials. Lenovo and IBM executives on Sept. 29 announced that in two days, they will close the $2.1 billion deal in which Lenovo will buy IBM's x86 server business. The acquisition that was announced in January is part of Lenovo's larger push to become a dominant player in all segments of computing, an effort that includes the vendor's current bid to buy Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.9 billion.With IBM's server business in the fold, Lenovo executives said the company will look to rapidly grow its Enterprise Business Group over the next year into a profitable unit with more than $5 billion in revenue, Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said during a confere…

Including Deutsche Telekom, BT, NTT DATA & Equinix; Expands Reach with 250 New Data Centers in 50 Countries; (Watch on YouTube) Cisco Introduces Hybrid Cloud Bundles, Ships Cisco Intercloud Fabric, and Commits $1 Billion in Cloud FinancingSAN JOSE, Calif. - September 29, 2014 - Cisco today announced that more than 30 additional companies, including Deutsche Telekom (DT), BT, NTT DATA, and Equinix, have added their support to the Intercloud - the worldwide network of interconnected clouds - that Cisco and its partners are rapidly developing to enable a new generation of standardized cloud applications and the proliferation of highly secure hybrid clouds.Today's news will expand the reach of the Intercloud by 250 additional data centers in 50 countries, and advances Cisco's plan to address customer requirements for a globally distributed, highly secure cloud platform capable of meeting the robust demands of the Internet of Everything. Designed for high-value application work…

Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They're fun!Nintendo fans have had it especially rough these past few years. The Wii U is getting better thanks to admissions from the company that there were some serious faults with the system, but, when it comes to software, games take a bit more time in the oven than a firmware update likely does. Today, we're taking a look at one of the scant few exclusive titles coming to Nintendo's latest home console for the holiday season: Hyrule Warriors. It isn't a proper entry in the Legend of Zelda series, though -- that comes next year... maybe -- it's an action game from the teams most famous for the Dynasty / Samurai Warriors franchises -- don't expect to be delving into any elemental-themed temples here. Instead, hone your hacking and slashing skills. How does it fare, though? Well,…

Chinese consumers will get their first shot at legally buying game consoles today after a 14-year ban, as begins offering its Xbox One in 4,000 stores. The trouble is none of its most popular titles are available because of government restrictions.Microsoft was the industry's first big player to start production in China, beating Nintendo Co. (7974) and Sony Corp. (6758) Yet the Xbox maker will contend with a generation that learned to play games on smartphones and tablets rather than consoles, and the hurdle of having available only 10 titles out of the hundreds released for it. Regulators are wary of violent content, and among the absent games are Destiny and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition.How the Xbox fares in China, where the exodus of casual players away from pure game machines is more pronounced, may show whether the world's most-populous nation can help reverse the console makers' fortunes. Video-game sales in the country are estimated…

Toyota is recalling 790,000 Tacoma pickup trucks from the 2005-11 model years worldwide, including about 690,000 in the United States, because a rear suspension part could break and possibly puncture the gas tank or damage a brake line, the automaker said Monday.On vehicles with the defect, corrosion could weaken a leaf spring, allowing it to break. 'The broken leaf could move out of position and contact surrounding components, including the fuel tank,' the automaker said in a news release.The action covers 4-wheel drive and Pre-Runner versions of the Tacoma. Amanda Rice, a Toyota spokeswoman, wrote in an email that the company was unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect. But some owners told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that they had had close calls.'A broken leaf spring cut my brake line, and my brakes stopped working with my 8-year-old child in the truck,' one Tacoma owner wrote to the safety agency in June. 'I had alread…

Cisco Systems is making an unusual case for itself: The Internet must be subject to a higher amount of control, and big companies will work with governments to make that possible.The message came in an announcement on Monday, rich in corporate partners and allies, that was intended to show Cisco's progress in creating its so-called Intercloud, a proposed network of cloud computing systems with high performance, security and control.In addition to improving security, the Intercloud is meant to help companies comply with the regulations of countries regarding the information that moves within their borders. For example, in Germany, where personal data privacy is a priority, that sort of technology can help personal information stay out of public hands.Also, important infrastructure like traffic control systems are increasingly run over the Internet. It's important that those systems have better security and control.'Our critical infrastructure will all be connected,' sai…

In the so-called ' Bend-gate' brouhaha that started last week, some iPhone 6 Plus users discovered that their new phones could bend under pressure. Despite the uproar online, Apple said it received only 9 customer complaints. So Consumer Reports decided to test just how 'bendy' the new iPhones really are, compared with other smartphones.Their findings? 'Our tests show that both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies,' Consumer Reports said on its website.To test the phones, the investigators supported each device at two points on both ends, applying force from above to the middle part of the phone, as demonstrated in this video. The y tested six smartphones: the two new iPhone 6's, the HTC One (M8), Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G3 and the iPhone 5. They started with relatively light pressure, applying 10 pounds of force for 10 seconds and then releasing. They then increased the force by 10-pound increments.The phones that turned out to be the mo…

Summary: While its leadership stack recently went through a state of flux, Oracle continues to reinforce its cloud stack as well.

SAN FRANCISCO---Once again taking over downtown San Francisco this week, newly-minted Oracle chief technology officer Larry Ellison opened the annual Oracle OpenWorld expo on Sunday.As many analysts expected leading up to this weekend, Oracle put its cloud business into the spotlight first.Ellison commenced by describing 2014 as a turning point for Oracle -- most especially its cloud business. He admitted that it 'dawned on' him and the rest of Oracle a few years back that the hardware giant would need to deliver all three layers of cloud services.More from Oracle OpenWorld 2014'We had no choice. We had to deliver SaaS, PaaS, and Infrastructure-as-a-Service together because of a promise we made to our customers 30 years ago,' Ellison insisted.At the SaaS layer, Ellison asserted Oracle has the largest portfolio in the industry, many of which w…

By Pedro Ozores -Shellshock, also known as Bash bug, was first spotted last week and is being considered a more dangerous successor of the feared Heartbleed bug.Award-winning and trusted the world over, Business News Americas is the only English and Spanish business intelligence resource for project , news , analysis and business contacts focused on and produced in Latin America. This company profile is one of thousands of companies included in the BNamericas directory of active and up-and-coming companies, including Trend Micro . Contact us today! Phone:+56 (2) 2941-0300

Apple got the latest iPhones' global introduction back on track with a rollout in 22 countries, a glitch-free software update and backing from Consumers Reports tests that show the handsets are hard to bend.Stress tests on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with comparable smartphones from competitors, showed that it took 'significant force' to damage any of the devices, Consumer Reports magazine said in a study published on its website. In a sign that consumers were ready to overlook the smartphone's rocky first week, long lines formed at stores as Apple introduced the latest iPhones to a second wave of markets, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are Apple's most important products to debut this year, leading a wave of gadgets that will go on sale, including new iPads and the Apple Watch. While Apple touted a record 10 million sales of iPhones during the opening weekend, the celebration was cut short by an iOS mobil…

Microsoft has launched the Xbox One in China - becoming the first major console maker to enter what could be a massively lucrative market.The first consoles were sold in Shanghai, priced at 4,299 yuan ($699, £430). Sony and Nintendo are yet to launch their respective products.In January, the Chinese government lifted a 14-year ban on consoles, made because of worries over content.However, many popular titles, such as Call of Duty, will still be banned.Only 10 games were available to buy on the Xbox One's release - but Microsoft has said 70 titles are in the pipeline.Beating its rivals to the market may give Microsoft a much-needed sales boost. Its console is currently being outsold by Sony's PlayStation 4 in all major markets.But Piers Harding-Rolls, a games analyst from IHS, told the BBC: 'There's advantages and disadvantages in being first.

'There's obviously potential. Overcoming the issues of piracy, overcoming the issues of pricing, having the right content…

GoPro, the company known for rugged little cameras used by extreme surfers and snowboarders, has new models that might appeal to a more timid demographic.In stores Oct. 5, the first new cameras since GoPro's blockbuster summer initial public offering aren't big reinventions. They're subtle but important improvements to help the less extreme among us create the whoa-check-that-out perspectives that made GoPro a cultural phenomenon.One is a $400 version called Hero4 Silver that adds a touch screen, finally making GoPro as easy to use as normal cameras. Another is a new version of its palm-size camera that's cheap enough-$130-to lose or break on vacation. (A third, the $500 Hero4 Black, will appeal to pros, with a faster processor for shooting video at four times the resolution of high definition.)I've had a chance to dangle two of the new GoPros out of a cable car, clamp them to a go-kart, and strap them to a 'selfie stick'-among other vacationing challenges-…

But at the moment only 10 games are available to Chinese consumers -- Master Chief, where are you? MicrosoftMicrosoft's Xbox One has finally landed in China, though at least a few popular games are off-limits due to government restrictions.The launch kicked off Monday with a special limited edition of the gaming console dubbed 'China Day One,' according to Chinese website WPDang, as reported by WPCentral. Up for grabs across more than 4,000 retail outlets in China, this edition comes with the Kinect sensor and includes several free games, notably Kinect Sports Rivals, Forza Motorsport 5, Powerstar Golf, and Neverwinter Online.Other titles available to Chinese gamers are Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Dance Central Spotlight, Rayman Legends, Trials Fusion, Naughty Kitties, and Zoo Tycoon.Peruse the list of the 10 current titles, however, and you won't see such popular games as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition, and Destin…